Remember ‘Reselect’

Posted on May 24th, 2007 by HuthPhoto.
Categories: Photoshop.

Quick Photoshop Selection Tip:

If you are like me and accidentally goof up a selection you’ve just made (you have a nice selection and when adding to it, you make it disappear, or you deselect it and need it again later)… remember that under the ‘Selection’ menu you can choose ‘Reselect’.

If you really love a selection that you might need later, you can choose to save it from the Select menu as well…and then load it anytime you need.

Remember to use you key combos too, or the tool option to ‘Add to’ or ‘Subtract from’ your selection… you don’t have to get the selection perfect the first time!

Have a great day!

0 comments.

Urinetown (the musical) @ Geva is Awesome!

Posted on May 15th, 2007 by HuthPhoto.
Categories: Shoots, Theatre, Funny, Photo, Rochester NY, Famous People.


What a riot of a show. This will be a huge hit for Geva. Don’t let the name put you off… I mean, what was ‘Monty Python’s Flying Circus’ anyway?! It’s just a goofy musical, dark comedy, set in a rough future with a water problem… which makes it a ‘Priviledge to Pee’. Once you get past the title, and general idea, there’s very little to object to in the show… we’re taking the kids.
If you want an idea of what Urintown (not the place of course, the musical) is like, check out their Tony Award performance video HERE. 

See a cool Flash Gallery of my photos from the show HERE in my ‘Secret Hideout’.

0 comments.

Photographing ASL Speakers

Posted on May 10th, 2007 by HuthPhoto.
Categories: Shoots, Skills, Funny, Photo, Teaching, Rochester NY, Colleges, Events.


It can very tricky to photography a person speaking in American Sign Language. I get lots of practice with my RIT, NTID, Rochester School for the Deaf Shoots and thought I’d mention a few things that might help someone.

Honestly, part of it is shooting lots of frames. ASL is a fast moving, arm-waving experience, so it’s easy to get blurred shots. One of the toughest things is that the language is so expressive (due to how much meaning is conveyed by expression since there is little voicing), and you can get some really awful expressions as well. Sort of like when someone is really into singing or dancing and their face makes sense if you are their live, but as a frozen frame… it can be nasty.

Here’s a series I shot at the RIT Celebration of Scholarship. This student is (I believe) the incoming student government president, and really lively & terrific.

And this is just a few of the frames… with the worst ones cut.

How’d I do… well, I know I got one or two OK shots, and I wouldn’t use this one…

as the sign (and expression) is too close to ‘Where’s the toilette’… although she’s obviously not saying that! But it does bring up the issue that know some sign is not only useful in life, but helps in editing. And when you are shooting, you can catch some positive signs that photograph well like ‘Thank You’ ‘I’ ‘Congratulations’, ‘Love’… that kinda stuff.

This one is just plain bad:

So learn some sign, shots lots of frames and try to get in synch with your speaker and her expressions. The best news is that it does lead to great expressive images with lots of gesturing, which we shooters all love.

0 comments.

Easier to Ask Forgiveness… In Photoshop

Posted on May 10th, 2007 by HuthPhoto.
Categories: Photoshop.

I’ve been retouching some images lately in Photoshop and the way I work reminds me of the adage ‘It’s often easier to ask for forgiveness than to get permission’.

What does that have to do with Photoshop? Where’s the ‘forgiveness’ tool?

Well, it’s called the ‘History Brush’ and the way it plays out is that it’s often easier to do a quick and dirty retouching (get that Exit sign out from behind the subject’s head) and not worry too much about if you spill the retouching over onto the subject themselves.

They use your History Brush, with a small brush size and ‘history back’ over the subject to clean up the mess you left.

That’s much faster than being meticulous in your retouch or making the perfect selection around an object.

Give it a try. And remember that you can set the History point anywhere in your History palette list, so click on the box next to the History state that was right before your sloppy retouch.

Happy Sloppy Retouching!

0 comments.

Wilmot Cancer Center Discovery Ball

Posted on May 4th, 2007 by HuthPhoto.
Categories: Shoots, Rochester NY, Colleges, Famous People, Events, Medical.


I’ve posted some of my favorite highlight images from the Ball HERE
It’s a cool Flash sliding viewer of large images… enjoy!


PS: What a great night. They had over 1300 people there to support Cancer research. The honorees were the URMC docs that lead the team to discover the Cervical Cancer vaccine. That’s them with their awards above. How cool is that… the first solid end to a type of cancer coming right from our URMC folks in Rochester!

Thanks to everyone at the URMC & Wilmot Center for having me be part of this wonderful event!

0 comments.

Tripods

Posted on May 4th, 2007 by HuthPhoto.
Categories: Skills, Equipment, Photo, Teaching, PhotoJava, Rants.

[b]Beatrice in Japan Asks (a Ninja!):[/b]
…sorry I couldn’t help the Ask a Ninja Ref

Mother’s Day is around the corner and my husband wants to get me a tripod for my gear. It is waaaaay overdue! I am on the brink of a migraine and tears trying to figure out what to purchase. Could you make a recommendation based on the following information?

+ Canon 20D w/battery grip
+ Canon 580EX flash
+ largest lens: Canon 70-200L IS f/2.8 w/collar
****************snip**********
(note: and she’s on a military base and so can play with options much)

[b]Ken Says:[/b]
You know, I hate tripods and consider them a necessary evil… so my advice is about what I use, and not up-to-date review filled with love for tripods :-)
I have an old, lightweight[b] Slik tripod[/b] I love. It seems like this one:
Slik U212 Universal Deluxe Tripod with 3-Way Pan Head #212
for $99 here:
http://www.adorama.com/SLU212D.html

:idea: I love that it’s legs can go out seperately, has a quick release for the camera, level, rubber and spiked feet and flips pretty easily and versatilely for copystand work, etc. Even though it’s light, it should be fine for a normal digital setup as you describe.


:x I used to own a Bogen/Manfroto which was super heavy. You buy those legs, then head of your choice. It was nice and solid, but a bit of a pain then to drag around. But do you know the real reason I didn’t like it?? The stupid flip-style leg locks really hurt when opening and closing… Maybe I’m just a dufus, but I couldn’t find a way to not pinch my fingers in every photo session. So fortunately it was stolen and I didn’t have to keep getting pinched :-)
So do consider which leg lock setups it has. I don’t like the spinning lock as it’s harder to tell when they are tight, they get loose easily, etc… YMMV. Also how the camera will attach and quickly be removed.

My life is hit and run, so I like speed releases. I’m also a fan of the heads that you grip to let loose, then the ball gives total swivel positioning. BUT it MUST be a top-quality, expensive one or it can slip or be cheesy quality. Good ones are very easy to use and lock down tight.

I used to work at camera stores in college and my first year out, so I’ve been around a few tripods… but that’s 20 years ago now. I am interested that my Slik is still made. I think that’s a good sign for it. Also, tripods aren’t high tech and don’t change often.

Great husband, BTW to do that. Military and supporting the photo habit. Tell him I say he rocks.

0 comments.